A 2-year-old girl has died after her father left her in a hot car in Arizona, where residents are enduring triple-digit temperatures, according to authorities.

The father was running errands with his daughter, and when he returned home Tuesday afternoon, he allegedly knowingly left the 2-year-old in the car, Marana Police Capt. Tim Brunenkant told ABC News.

He left the car running and the air conditioning on, Brunenkant said.

The dad went into the house, and when he returned to the car between 30 and 60 minutes later, the car was off, Brunenkant said.

  • ccunning@lemmy.world
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    8 months ago

    Why was the car off when he returned if he left it running with the AC on?

    It’s a tragedy, but if I’m on the jury I’m not sure I would convict him.

    • The_v@lemmy.world
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      8 months ago

      Many modern vehicles automatically turn off after 30-60 minutes idling “to save fuel”. I order to turn it off you have to hit the A button on the dash. it’s proven to be deadly.

      • ccunning@lemmy.world
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        8 months ago

        I suppose it’s possible if the cooling system isn’t functioning correctly, but as far as I know, properly functioning, it should be able to idle in triple digits just fine.

          • ccunning@lemmy.world
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            8 months ago

            Any number of things can go wrong in any number of situations, but you can’t effectively live life accounting for all of them to possibly happen all the time.

            Not saying it was the best decision but I don’t think it’s unreasonable to think the car would keep the AC on.

            It’s definitely a tragedy. The article is too light on information to convict was all I was saying.

    • thefartographer@lemm.ee
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      8 months ago

      My mom’s car, a mid-'10s Acura, will turn itself off if you leave with the key and get too far away from the car for too long without enabling valet mode.

    • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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      8 months ago

      Leaving a two-year-old alone in a car for 30-60 minutes (he doesn’t even know how long he was gone) isn’t is criminal in and of itself regardless of the weather. On top of that, he knew it was in the triple digits and he’s also not so stupid that he doesn’t know that cars can break down. I don’t know what to tell you. I just hope you aren’t responsible for any toddlers.

      Edit: Stupid typo.

    • Snapz@lemmy.world
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      8 months ago

      Because it looks like it may have been a tesla and those are failure machines for idiots.

      The car probably had “AI” face detection of vulnerable children in high heat conditions which then triggered a “surge subscription” notification on the app. “Upgrade to infant climate+ NOW, in the next 2 minutes, or your air conditioning will be temporarily shifted to heater until you decide to upgrade. Thank you.”